Harry Potter Meets the BabySitters Club
by Phoenix1001
Summary: The morning after Harry is left at the Dursleys, Mrs Figg finds him and takes him away. Harry and Neville are both adopted by Mrs Figg and taken to Connecticut, where they meet the Baby-sitters club. Kidfic, AU, HP/BSC crossover. WIP
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

1st November, 1981

Little Whinging, Surrey

United Kingdom

Mrs Arabella Figg left her home at number 8 Wisteria Walk, dressed as usual in her tartan carpet slippers and housecoat, to go down to the corner market to pick up something to eat for her precious cats, Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty. She turned down the corner and started down Privit Drive, and as she passed Number 4, she heard the fainted of whimpering. She glanced around and saw a rather large wicker basket sitting on the stoop.

"What have we here?" Arabella murmurs, as she glances around to make sure no one was watching her. She walked up to the stoop and glanced in the basket.

"Oh dear Lord!" she gasped. "Who in their right mind leaves a BABY on the stoop of a house? Well, humph."

Noticing a parchment tied to the handle, she reached out and grabbed it and, glancing around furtively, she breaks the seal and reads the lettre.

_Dear Mrs. Dursley, _

_I am quite sorry to announce the loss of your sister, Lily. She and James were murdered last night by the Dark Lord Voldemort. Harry, their one year old son, somehow managed to survive the attack. Not only did he survive the Killing Curse, but made it rebound upon the Dark Lord, and brought about His downfall. Unfourtunately, the Dark Lord, I fear, is not gone forever. Nor are His Death Eaters gone. _

_I have placed blood wards around your home, based upon Lily sacrificing herself for Harry, and, as long as Harry can call No. 4 Privit Drive home, both he and your family will be safe from the Death Eaters. Please contact me if you need any assistance, Petunia. I am sure you remember how._

_Cordially yours, _

_Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Order of Merlin, First Class, et al._

"Humph. Those rotten Dursleys would more than likely neglect Harry and make his life miserable. I had best take him with me until I can get these blood wards looked into by someone trustworthy," Arabella muttered, picking Harry up out of the basket and holding him close to her chest. She would have transfigured a pram and a warm blanket, but as a Squib, she didn't have _that_ luxury. "Come on, Harry, dear. Let's go down to market and get you some milk and such. Then we will go home and contact someone who can help."

Glancing down at the baby in her arms, she smiled faintly when she saw that Harry had fallen fast asleep, his thumb planted in his mouth.

Chapter 1

Arriving home from the market with an armload of baby necessities and her usual order of cat food, she sat them down on the kitchen counter before going into the bathroom to change Harry's diaper for him. Once that was done, she took him back into the kitchen and proclaimed, "Let's see about getting something warm and nutricious into your little tummy, hmm, Harry?"

Putting Harry into the high chair that she still kept around from when her children were little, she went about making up a bottle for Harry, all the while talking away, both to keep Harry occupied and to help herself figure out what she needed to do.

"All right, then. We need to go see the goblins at Gringott's today, Harry, to take care of your parents' wills, checking out the wards at the Dursleys', and I need to get some money out of my family vault. That's one good thing about being an only child of an only child. At least I couldn't be disowned for being a Squib. After we get done at Gringott's, we need to go see Madam Maulkin to get you some more baby outfits. After that, we need to go to the Ministry and figure out what in Merlin's name gave Albus the right to put you with the Dursley's. Surely your parents named godparents and alternative guardians, because I couldn't see Lily wanting you to be placed with that snobby giraffe-neck of a sister and walrus of a brother-in-law. Here you go, Harry, a nice warm ba-ba to fill you right up," Arabella said, turning around and walking over to give Harry his bottle.

Harry reached up and grabbed the bottle and started to drink. Arabella looked down fondly on Harry and smiled. "You know, Harry, your eyes are exactly like your mother's were. I am sure you will be hearing that alot throughout your life. I am truly sad to see your parents gone, even though it brought about the greatest day that we've seen in a long while. You will be famous, Harry. You're the only one who has survived the Killing Curse. Who'd have thunk that You-Know-Who would be brought down by a cute little baby like you?

"Now, finish up your bottle, and then we will get you cleaned up and floo over to Gringott's and get our day going, alright?"

---

Stepping out of the Floo into Gringott's lobby, Arabella strode up to the nearest available Goblin and asked to speak to a manager.

"GRIPHOOK, take this lady back to see Ragnok and do so quickly!" the goblin said, looking pointedly at the scar on Harry's forehead.

"Y-y-y-yes, s-s-sir. Right this way, ma'am," Griphook stuttered, and led Arabella and Harry towards Goblin Clan Leader Ragnok's office.

Upon arriving at the office door, Griphook whispered to Arabella to "Wait here, please," before knocking thrice upon the door and stepping inside when a voice called out, "Enter!"

Several minutes later, Griphook came back to the door, and said, "Ragnok will see you now," and bowed her through the door.

Arabella stepped into the office with Harry, now sleeping, in her arms. Griphook excused himself as Ragnok gestured toward a seat in front of his desk. Arabella sat down in the ornately carved chair, and murmered, "When I asked to speak to a manager, I never expected to be taken to the Clan Leader himself."

Ragnok chuckled lightly and said, "Well, ma'am, it's because of your little companion. The news of what Mr. Potter accomplished last night has travelled quickly, and has affected not only the human world, but all magical creatures, as well. He has saved us all from a terrible fate, however temporarily. Now, what may I do for you today, ma'am?"

"Well, Mr. Ragnok, first off, let me introduce myself properly. I am Arabella Figg, nee Cadogan. I was on my way to the market this morning to buy my kitties some food, when I saw, well heard, rather, Harry here crying. I looked around and saw him laying in a basket on the stoop of No. 4 Privit Drive, which is supposedly his maternal aunt's house, as there was a note attached to his basket from Albus Dumbledore, claiming that You-Know-Who killed the Potters, and that he, that is, Albus, set blood wards around the Dursleys house based upon Lily's sacrifice..."

"Did you happen to bring this note with you?" Ragnok interrupted.

"Yes. Here it is," she replied, handing Ragnok the note, who quickly read it and scowled. "Is there a problem, Mr Ragnok?"

"Yes. First off, the Potter will was brought in to me today, and it clearly stated that young Mr. Potter was to go to an orphanage or be adopted by a magical family before going to the Dursleys, if all the appointed guardians were unavailable to take care of him. His godfather, Sirius Black, was imprisoned about two hours ago, due to his "betrayel" of the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, which, by the way, did not happen. Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, according to the will, but will the Wizengamot even give him a fair trial? More than likely not. His godmother, Alice Longbottom, along with her husband, Frank, were murdered in their home last night. Luckily, their baby, Neville, was staying with his grandmother. However, that is not likely to be for long, as she is ill. You, Mrs. Figg, were named a guardian, if you choose to accept, that is."

Arabella's heart leapt. "Of course! I would love to take care of Harry!"

"Very well. That is a relief. Now, more importantly, how to keep the Bumblebee from interfering. For all his claims of blood wards based on Lily Potter's sacrifice, there could be no such thing, as Lily was adopted. She was the sister of Alice Longbottom, nee Prewitt, and for some reason, had been put up for adoption. That is why Petunia was so spiteful and cold-hearted about her "sister". So, while Harry would have been safe staying in the Muggle world, he would not have been very happy with the Dursleys. With Mr. Black and Mrs. Longbottom no longer in the picture, there is nowhere where blood wards could be erected, unless you were to take in young Mr. Longbottom. However, Dumbledore is already going to attempt to interfere with you adopting Mr. Potter, much less Mr. Longbottom."

"I don't care. I could blood-adopt both of them, which would give them my familial traits, and I could move out of the country. I have a family home in Connecticut. I could move there."

"That would be a wise idea. Let me get ahold of Madame Longbottom, and we can arrange for the ceremony to blood-adopt both Messrs. Potter and Longbottom later this morning. Would you mind waiting here for a little while while I get everything arranged, or would you like to pay a visit to your vault?"

"I will pay my vault a visit, if you don't mind, Mr Ragnok. I need to get out some money to do some shopping later, especially if I am going to be taking care of a couple of toddlers."

"Not a problem, Madam. I will have Griphook take you down to your vault, and I will see you again in a little while."

"Thank you, Mr. Ragnok. Until then, may your gold flow freely."

"And may your enemies die forcefully. Until later, Madam Figg."

Tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Mostly this chapter deals with the visit to the vault, as well as preparing the financial and real estate sides of moving to America. The next chapter will deal with the blood adoption and the chapter after that will be actually moving to America.

Chapter 2

Stepping quickly towards the door, Griphook said, "Come right this way, Madam, and we will head down to your vault."

Arabella followed Griphook through the back halls to the vault carts, and they took off on a roller-coater ride to, "Vault № 201: Cadogan Family Vault."

"Thank you, Griphook. If you don't mind me asking for some advice, it has been awhile since I have had children, much less infants. It has also been a while since I have activelly went between the Wizarding world and the Muggle World. What is the exchange rate and how much should I take out? I am also moving to our family home in Connecticut, which is in a Muggle town called Stoneybrook, so I will need some Muggle American money for over there."

"Well, Madam..."

"Please, Arabella. At least while we are alone. I am uncomfortable with always being called madam."

"All right, Arabella, the current exchange rate is £5 to the galleon. I would recommend taking out 2000 galleons (A/n: does anyone know if there is an actual symbol for galleons? Until I know otherwise, I will use the Gaurani sign ₲), which translates to £10,000. That should be plenty to purchase clothing, diapers, and other necessities for the boys, as well as leaving some money to pack up your personal belongings and such to be shipped over to Stoneybrook. As to having money for America, do you plan on bringing the boys back so they can attend Hogwarts?"

"I don't know at this point. I mean, with school loyalty and such, they 'should' attend the same school their parents did, but with their backgrounds, I don't know if that will be such a good idea. There are plenty of good schools in America, such as Salem, which I heard is now accepting wizards as well as witches, Pathfinder School in the Rockies, and a few other boarding schools, as well as non-boarding schools, where my boys could attend Muggle schools through their A-levels, and also attend magic school in the evening."

"Alright, Arabella, how about this: you go ahead and grab your ₲2000, and when we get back to Clan Chief Ragnok's office, we will pull a statement of your vaults and decide how much to exchange for Muggle money."

"Alright, Griphook, I will do that. Just let me have a second."

Arabella stepped into the vault, and when she had finished stuffing her moneybag with the galleons, she looked around the vault, and didn't see anything she really wanted to take with her besides some money today.

She walked back to the cart, and they headed back up to the surface. When they got back there, she followed Griphook back to Ragnok's office, where they found him pouring over some papers.

Griphook cleared his throat softly and said, "Majesty, Madam Figg would like to discuss some financial transactions as well this morning. If I may be so excused, I will go and retrieve a summary of her vault."

Chuckling slightly, Ragnok said, "Of course Madam Figg will be wanting to discuss some financial matters. This IS a bank, after all. And as to the summary of the vault, I have a copy right here," indicating the sheaf of parchments he had been looking at previously. "You may be excused, and Griphook? Could you inform the kitchens to send up lunch for two, as well as something for young Master Potter?"

Bowing deeply, Griphook agreed and excused himself from the office of the Clan Chief and King of the Glorious Goblin Nation.

"Now, Madam Figg, I assume with your claim of the family home being in America, you are referring to the Figg family home, not the Cadogen family home, which is here in the Commonwealth?"

At her nod, he continued, "Since the Figg home is in an American Muggle town, I took the liberty of assessing the costs of living in a Muggle area, and the figures boil down to the following costs _per month_:

GalleonsUSD

Electricity:₲ 6,16,05$70

Heat:₲ 5,16,08$60

Insurance:₲17,14,25$180 (Health and auto combined)

Petrol:₲ 7,16,01$80 ($20 per week in the 80s is Groceries:₲39,12,07$400 alot, probably, but I barely Other:₲20,14,15$210  even remember the 80s!)

Total:₲99,05,03 $1000

"If you were to stay in the States for good, I would recommend transferring all of your money to Muggle funds and opening an account at one of the banks in the area."

"At this point in time, Ragnok, I am undecided whether I plan to send the boys to an American school or to Hogwarts. I will take your advice on my finances, because that is what you are great at."

"Well, since you are undecided, I propose the following. Your current vault bears interest at an APY of 2½%. If you left ₲5,000 ($50,350), by the time the boys came back for Hogwarts, you will have accrued ₲1,250, which makes your vault total ₲6,250. That should be plenty for you to get through the first year of Hogwarts, since their schooling is paid by their trusts. After the first year, if they decide to remain at Hogwarts, you can move your money back into Gringotts, and if they decide not to remain at Hogwarts, or do not come back for it at all, you can withdraw the money at any time."

"That works, Ragnok. How much do I have in my vaults, excluding the ₲5,000?"

"2,571,016 galleons, 13 sickles, 24 knuts, which will translate to $25,890,139.31. That money will see you and your sons through the easy life for a long while. The house is furnished, there is no mortgage, and the taxes have been taken care of by the trust of the Figg family, of which Neville will be the heir when you blood-adopt him. Your deceased husband's brother is the head, and being a Muggle in a homosexual relationship, he will not be producing an heir, so Neville is eligible to assume heirship at 7 years of age."

"Excuse me, Ragnok, but my head is spinning from all these numbers. Could we take a break and maybe have a bite to eat?"

"Certainly, Madam. We will continue this after lunch."

Ragnok clapped his hands twice, and a scrumpscious lunch appeared on a side table, and they adjourned for lunch.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I have had a few questions about the finances and the Lordships of both the Longbottom and Potter families (waves at Mikee. "Hi Mikee!"). Simply put, they both retain the Lordships and family vaults, but Neville also inherits the Figg line, which is a Muggle Lordship. He will retain the hereditary seat for Parliament, and all such rot. (Remember, Figg is Arabella's married name. She retained the right to pass on the Figg hereditary seat to her children, but since her oldest child passed on without children, and her youngest is going to be offed in a later chapter, behind the scenes, Neville gets the seat.) And sorry about all the confusion with the formatting on the budget table. I am trying to get used to Wordpad, when I used to have a computer with Word on it.

On a side note, in case anyone was wondering, Harry is in a nursery down the hall, being cooed over by a Goblin nanny, while the adults talk money and rituals. He will be making an apperance this chapter, along with Neville and Dumb-Old-Dork.

Chapter Three

Adoptions

After eating the lunch provided by the goblin cooks, Ragnok and Arabella got back down to business.

"All right. Now that we have the finances figured out for the time being, we have a few other items to discuss. While you were down in the vaults, I have been reviewing the Longbottom and Potter wills. Essentially, both boys will be eligible to assume Lordship at eight years old. They will need to have proxies for the Wizengamot and Hogwarts Board of Governors until they obtain their majorities, but everything else will be accessible to them at eight. Their schooling will be paid for out of the trust funds set aside for them regardless of the school they go to. Lastly, Young Master Potter is not only the Potter Lord, but he is Lord Gryffindor. He is THE richest person in the Wizarding world. Most likely the Muggle world as well, but with all the pitfalls of Muggle accounting, I cannot be certain."

"And with us moving abroad, how will that affect the Lordships?"

"They will still retain them, but the status will be inactive until such time that they move back to the UK. However, the Lordships are a non-issue at this moment, because they are locked in until the boys are eight. I have taken the liberty, Madam, to request Mme Longbottom bring Young Master Longbottom here at quarter of one, and she should be here momentarily. As such, we will move ahead with the legal adoption of Young Master Potter while we wait. We can also work on the paperwork for the Longbottom adoption as well."

"I'll do whatever necessary for my boys."

"All right then. I have just a few questions for you. Do you want the boys to both take the name Figg, or would you prefer them to retain their birth surnames?" asked Ragnok.

"I would like to hypenate them for the legal paperwork, but they will be casually known as Figgs," Arabella replied.

"Very well. That is common with adoption these days, especially with the blood adoptions, where the children have the genetic traits of the birth parents and the adoptive parents," Ragnok remarked as he made notations on both sets of paperwork. "Second question: since you have dual citizenship, once you adopt the boys, how do you choose to declare their citizenships?"

"I would like them to have American citizenship, as we will be living there. That wouldn't affect their family lordships or anything, will it?" Arabella asked fearfully.

"No, Madam. The citizenship declaration is merely for Muggle paperwork. In the wizarding world, we allow immigration freely between countries without requiring a change in citizenship status. It is treated as a union much like America, where there are many states that make up one whole. Where do you think the bloody americans stole the phrase _e. pluribus unum_ from?"

"Alright, I will declare them American." A sharp knock sounded on the door.

"Majesty, the Longbottoms are here," Griphook announced.

"Let them in. We were just finishing up the paperwork here."

Nora Longbottom shuffled into the room holding baby Neville in her arms akwardly as she did so. "Majesty, it is an honour to meet you. Good afternoon, Arabella."

"Good afternoon, Nora. I hope you are feeling better. And I am sorry for your loss."

"About the same as usual. Old, cranky, and ornery. I will miss Frank and Alice, but I find a great deal of comfort knowing that they died war heroes. Arabella, I love my grandbaby with all of my heart, but I know I am not long for this world. This old body can't handle it. I thank you for choosing to adopt Neville, and to raise him as your own. I would ask though, please educate him in the old pureblood rituals and customs. Harry too. They, being children of fate, need to know them the most."

"That will be one of the first things I will teach them when they are old enough to understand. I will also find them tutors for Occlumency and other mind magicks that they show propensity for as they grow up. Given who they are, Occlumency is a necessity."

"Yes, it is, and the Glorious Goblin Nation will provide all the necessary tutors for the magical side of things, provided you choose not to enrol them in a wizarding day school or side-by-side them in both Muggle and Wizarding primary schools. The American authorities have a way of finding out when a child is starting to show signs of accidental magic, which is usually around the time of their first year of primary school (5-6 years old), and will pay your home a visit to work out what you will do then. For now, though, we need to move on to the adoption rituals, if Mme Longbottom is finished with her paperwork?" King Ragnok finished up.

"I have," Nora stated.

"Let's move on to the ritual room then, shall we? Griphook! Please get Young Master Potter from the nursery, and meet us in the ritual room."

"Yes, Majesty. As you wish, so mote it be," Griphook said. "As if I would object to being little more than a gruntgoblin for the King, no matter how belittled I am treated," he muttered as he walked out of the room bowing.

"Forgive us that little outburst, madams. Griphook has been suffering moodswings since the loss of his mate a few weeks ago. She was killed, in fact, by the same Death Eaters that led the attack on your son and his wife last evening, Mme Longbottom."

"Oh, my," Nora and Arabella gasped at the same time.

"Time draws short, madams, as we need to finish this before Dumbledore comes by to poke his long crooked nose into matters that are none of his business. If you would be so kind to please follow me, we will go down the hall to the ritual room."

Arabella rose and followed Ragnok out of his office. Nora followed them, carrying a wide-eyed Neville in her arms. They walked a short distance down the hall and entered a room that had a solid gold door with ruby lettering on it that read "Rituals". When they entered, they found that Griphook was already there with Harry, and had started to set up the materials needed for the ritual.

"Ah, good. Thank you, Griphook, for your assistance. Now, there are three parts to this ritual. The first is that we bathe the adoptees in pure water to cleanse them of all dirt and grime. The second is that we spell a potion into their stomachs. The potion will contain a drop of blood from Mme Figg and a drop of blood from each of the boys, so they look both like you, Mme Figg, as well as looking more like fraternal twins. So far as the muggles will know by looking, you just had a couple of late-born children. The third part will be a spell that activates the potion. They will not feel any pain from the transformation, as they have not taken on many familial traits as of yet. Griphook will take care of bathing the boys, I am sure, while I will prep the potion."

Griphook had quickly bathed the boys and wrapped in warm blankets by the time Ragnok had finished his (long-winded) explanation of the ritual.

"Ah, very good. Thank you, Griphook. If you could lay the boys down here on the alter" (a long, stone table in the centre of the room, not the kind in a church or a pagan sacrifice) "and Mme Figg, could you step here next to me so we can get your donation?"

Arabella stepped up to the alter and held out her arm. Ragnok drew a small knife out of his clothing and e'er so carefully stuck the point of it into the tip of Arabella's index finger. He let a single drop of it fall into each of the vials that he had before waving his hand over the wound and healing it. Then, he drew a single drop of blood from each of the boys.

Flip-flopping the potions, he waved his hand and the potions disappeared, magicked straight into the children's stomachs.

"It is now time for the final step in the ritual. This is your last chance to back out before the adoption becomes magically binding. Do either of you wish to change your minds?" Ragnok asked.

"No, sir," Arabella and Nora choroused.

"Alright then. _Le Seigneur a donné, et le Seigneur a emporté ; peuvent par la puissance de l'amour, ces enfants peuvent devenir les enfants de la femme dont le sang réside dans des leurs estomacs ; comme est dit, ainsi grain il soit._"

As soon as Ragnok finished chanting, a bright golden light flashed and enveloped both boys and phoenix song sounded throughout the room. When the older occupents' eyesight cleared, they saw the boys laying on the table, looking like copies of the other, and there were five scrolls laying on the table.

Upon reading the scrolls, it was discovered that Neville was the Heir of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, while Harry was the Heir of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The fifth scroll revealed that Merlin was a common ancester of all four founders, making Harry and Neville joint Heirs of Merlin.

"Well, that is shocking, to say the least. Yet another reason I am so glad that you be raising them in America, Arabella. Over there, they could care less about the Hogwarts founders. Yes, the boys are important, as is their histories, but at least you won't have people fawning over them because of their 'famous' ancestors," Nora said.

"Yes. There will be several changes, however, made to the boys' ancestral vaults, but all that will be explained at a later time. For now, I have a portkey set up in my office for your transport to America, Arabella. It is a voice-activated portkey, passcode 'Take me home'. I took the liberty of having some of our worker goblins pack and move your personal belongings to your new home, as well as Young Master Longbottom's. They also set up a nursery for you, and everything will be waiting for you when you get there. Let's head back to my office," Ragnok suggested.

As they stepped into the hall, they were met with a frantic looking Albus Dumbledore. "Ragnok, I have been looking for you. We need to put a freeze on the Potter will, as the legal guardian of Harry is a criminal and we need to stop it before it falls into the wrong hands!"

"M Dumbledore, step into my office with me and the kind Mmes Longbottom and Figg. Let's have a little chat, shall we?"

The group of 3 adults, a goblin, and a pair of toddlers went into the Goblin King's office, where, with a wave of Ragnok's hand, four chairs, two highchairs, and a table popped into existance.

"M Dumbledore, the Potter will has already been executed. Arabella Figg, in accordance to the deceased's wishes, has adopted both Harry Potter as well as Neville Longbottom. It is done and over with," Ragnok said, glancing over at Arabella, who casually picked up the boys to hold them.

"NO! Harry will not be safe unless he is with the Dursleys! There were blood wards erected for his safety!"

"There were no blood wards erected! Lily Potter had been adopted! She was in no way blood related to that giraffe-necked banshee Petunia Dursley! Now get off of your high horse and accept the fact that you will not be controlling either of my children and that is final!" Arabella screeched.

"Now see here! I am the Chief Warlock, and what I say goes!" Dumbledore starts to rant, before being cut off by Ragnok, who called out, "Mme Figg, catch!"

He tossed an American-style football towards Arabella, who caught it, called out "Take me home" and was whisked away to her family's new home in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.

TBC...

A/N2: Next chapter will be a three-year jump to 1984, where we will see Harry and Neville playing in their yard and meeting the neighbour children, Karen and Andrew Brewer.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

August 1984

Stoneybrook, Connecticut

In a small town, even the most trivial of events become big news. Such was the arrival of the newly-reformed Figg family back in 1981. However, in the next three years, their arrival had lost its noteworthiness, and they became a (mostly) accepted part of the neighbourhood. That brings us to the middle of August of 1984, where we find the children having a bit of fun.

"Hey, Nevvie! Look at what I found!" a four-year-old Harry Potter-Figg said triumphantly, holding up a rock that was shaped like a monkey.

"Cool! We can put it with the elephant and the giwaffe, if Mommy lets us keep it," Neville Longbottom-Figg said.

The boys had a collection growing, you see. Anytime they found a rock that resembled something, and was mostly realistic, they kept it. It was the bane of Arabella's housekeeper, because with the boys' imaginations, they thought EVERYTHING was realistic. Now, the boys' "Mommy", Arabella, had to approve before they got to keep a new rock for their collection.

All of a sudden, out of seemingly nowhere, a soccer ball came crashing down into the Figg's yard. "Oh no! Andrew, you kicked the ball over into Morbidda Destiny's yard again! She'll put a spell on it and curse you!"

"Karen! That's enough of this witch nonsense! Mrs. Figg is NOT a witch. There is no such thing as curses or spells, and while the boys next door might find use of the soccer ball you sent over there, I didn't spend the money on it for you to throw it away like that!" a deep, masculine voice scolded, before muttering, "I don't know how a two year old could kick a ball so hard…"

"I'll go get it, Daddy!" Andrew said, before running off towards the Figg's yard.

Harry and Neville looked up at the sound of running footsteps to see Andrew Brewer dash into their yard, followed by his sister, Karen, and his dad, Watson, who were both yelling "Andrew, WAIT!"

They both stopped in their tracks when Andrew walked up to Harry and said, "Hi-hi. I'm Andrew. Didja see a big ball anywhere?"

"Hi! I'm Harry, and this is Nevvie," Harry said, pointing first to himself and then at Neville. "Yeah, I saw your ball. It's right here." He rolled it to Andrew.

"Andwew, would you like to play with us?" Neville said.

"Ahem," Watson said. "Boys, is your mother around?"

"Yes, sir! Want me to go get Mommy for ya?" Harry asked.

"If you would, Harry. I would like to speak with her for a minute," Watson replied.

While Watson was talking to Harry, four-year-old Karen had stepped up to her brother and was whispering in his ear. "Andrew, why do you want to play with the witch's kids?"

Neville overheard her ask that, and said, "Our mommy is NOT a witch! She's a Squib!"

By this point, Arabella had spotted the Brewers in her yard and came out in time to hear Watson say he wanted to speak to her and also hear Neville call her a Squib.

"Neville, what have I told you about calling me a Squib in public?" Arabella said. She picked up Harry, who had turned around and nearly ran into her in his haste to find her, before turning to Watson. "Hello, Watson. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine, Arabella. Your boys had invited my son to play with them, and I wanted to secure your permission for him to do so. After all, they can't be any older than my Karen, who's four, and Andrew is only two. With Andrew only having his sister to play with, I am afraid that without another boy around, he would end up growing up either a loner from avoiding his sister, or effeminate from being with his sister."

"The boys are four, so they are your daughter's age. I have no doubt though that as outgoing as my little Harry is, he would have no problem asking Andrew over to play. I have no problem with it, either."

"Actually, it was Neville who asked him to play with them, but as long as you are okay with it, I am okay with it," Watson said.

"Neville? YOU asked Andrew to play with you two?" Arabella asked, surprised.

"Yes, Mommy. I like Andwew. He's nice!" Neville said happily.

"Well, if you like him, then he is welcome to come over and play any time he wants to. Merlin only knows that you two need some friends. Watson, Andrew is welcome to stay. What time is your supper, or would you mind if I fed him over here?"

"That's fine. He's allergic to chocolate and peaches, though. And sugar makes him hyper."

"Sugar makes ALL kids hyper. Your children are definitely not unique in that aspect. Although, ironically, Neville is also allergic to chocolate, and Harry to peaches, so there's no worries about him being fed either of those things. I'll have him home shortly after supper, because if he is anything like my boys, he'll be out like a light right after."

"I'll be expecting you after supper then, Arabella," Watson said before walking over to Andrew. "Andy, give Daddy a hug, and then you can play with Harry and Neville until supper. Mrs. Figg will be feeding you supper, and then she'll be bringing you home."

"Okay, Daddy!" Andrew said happily. He grabbed his Daddy around the neck when Watson leaned over and gave him a big hug and a kiss, before saying, "Bye-bye, Daddy! Love ya! Bye, Karen!"

Watson looked over at his daughter and said, "Well, Karen, it looks like it is a Daddy/Daughter day for us then!"

Karen cheered, and they walked towards home, while Andrew went over to play with Harry and Neville.

TBC…

A/N: Well, there you have it, folks. The boys and Arabella made it to Connecticut, and are finally settled in. The boys have even made a friend already! Please review!


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